


The Kids Will Be Alright (Eventually)

by ElZacharie



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Light Angst, Literally one line but important to note, M/M, Physical Disability, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElZacharie/pseuds/ElZacharie
Summary: Wrathion and Anduin meet and part.
Relationships: Implied Taelia Fordragon/Wrathion/ Anduin Wrynn, Wrathion/Anduin Wrynn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	The Kids Will Be Alright (Eventually)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Prince with the Dragon Tattoos](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25719676) by [joy_peace_blooms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/joy_peace_blooms/pseuds/joy_peace_blooms). 



> title from the same song title by sledding with tigers

It had been a long journey to the tavern, though Anduin spent most of it asleep in his litter, only waking to be fed and otherwise taken care of by the healers and mistweavers that accompanied him and his guard. Any time spent awake was time spent in pain, unable to even move his neck without assistance, even when the warmth of the Light or the soothing mists filled his body. He couldn’t even look down at the mark of his soulmates on his wrists, wondering if they could feel his distress.

Though he told himself it was silly to think of them feeling his pain, part of him felt strangely at ease— his right wrist never felt any pain, and he could even begin to move it slightly after a day of healing, though it never lasted too long. That little part of him whispered that it was thanks to his soulmates— their bond was strong, the piece holding his shattered body together, if he wanted to get sappy about it.

When they finally reached the tavern, he found himself waking to a strange heat emanating from that same spot on his wrist. His eyes flicked to the side, where two red, glowing eyes— though they looked more like orbs attached to a shadow— shone through the veil of the litter. The heat became more intense until, finally, the litter was led upstairs.

The healers hefted him into the slightly less comfortable bed with little complaint from the prince, whose mind was focused on the silhouette he’d seen downstairs. His wrist hadn’t heated up for no reason, he was sure of it— but then the Light and healing mists pulsed through him, and he found himself drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

[BREAK]

When next Anduin woke, it was to a comforting weight upon his chest and the tittering of his guard and healers. A pleasant heat was filling his chest, easing the constant pain far more than the healers were ever able to do. He kept his eyes shut, simply enjoying whatever the healers had done, and focused on the voices.

“He’s been on him for hours!” a voice whispered. “We’ve been trying to get him off, but he just growls and snaps at anyone who gets close! The prophet almost lost a finger!”

“What about his bodyguards? Have they not tried to get it off?” came his father’s voice, exasperated.

“The whelp simply clung to him, your majesty, and dug his claws into his shirt. The prince looked to be in pain the moment he was removed. We had to put him back, lest the whelp’s shrieking wake him. He needs all the sleep he can get.”

His father sighed. “What are we going to do about this…?” he murmured to himself.

“There’s more,” another voice— Velen’s, no doubt— spoke up. “It would seem that Anduin and this young dragon are… bonded.”

“They’re WHAT?!” shouted Varian, causing Anduin to involuntarily flinch, pain radiating through his muscles at the movement. The lump on him shifted and he felt scales nestle under his chin, a puff of smoke filling his nostrils as the being— the dragon, if the people in his room were to be believed— began to purr gently.

“Please, your majesty, you’ll wake the prince!” a healer warned.

Varian groaned, no doubt squeezing the bridge of his nose. “I knew that he would have an inhuman soulmate, but… a  _ black _ dragon? Fate must be conspiring against me!”

“The prince is uncorrupted, your majesty,” said a woman with the rough voice of one used to orcish. “The last of his kind. Besides, we will make sure he does nothing untoward to your son.”

Silence spanned. A chair creaked as it was set down next to him, and the dragon began to growl. “Anduin?” Varian whispered. “Are you awake, son?”

Anduin forced his eyes open, blinking away sleep. His father looked bedraggled, his eyes red from lack of sleep and shed tears, and hair out of its usual half ponytail. “Yes, father.” 

“How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough to know I’m bonded to a black dragon, father. I’m s—”

Varian held up a hand and he shut his mouth. “I don’t need an apology, Anduin. I’m just here to check up on you; I’ll be returning to Stormwind afterwards. You’re going to stay here in Pandaria for a while longer, while you heal. Tong, the owner, assures me that none of the Horde will be able to find you here, and it’ll be well-guarded by your little friend there, to boot.”

The prince chanced a look down at the lump and found himself mesmerized by how tiny and  _ fat  _ the whelp was. He desperately wanted to poke its little underbelly— to touch it at all, really, knowing that his soulmate was hidden inside that form. The head under his chin moved, and he caught a glowing red eye staring back at him before the eye shut.

Varian cleared his throat, leaning forward. “Just… Promise me you’ll behave, okay? No sneaking out, no going outside without guards— just do the exercises the mistweavers tell you to and continue your studies with Velen, okay?”

“Okay, father. I promise.”

With that, Varian stood up and leaned over, getting a kiss on the forehead in before the dragon began to growl like a cornered cat. Once the king backed away, the purring started up again, much louder than before.

“I’ll see you soon, Anduin. I… I love you.”

* * *

The dragon’s name, apparently, was Wrathion, Prince of the Black Dragonflight and Leader of the Blacktalons, and don’t you forget it. When he wasn’t a fat whelp, he was actually a quite attractive teen, no older than Anduin. He usually wore an extravagant outfit made of silks, complete with a turban, but, on the rare occasion he went without, usually after a bath, the dragon had curly black hair that nearly dragged on the floor if he wasn’t careful.

When he wasn’t taking “meetings” with champions and his agents, he spent his time playing a board game either with one of his bodyguards— who usually beat him— or by himself, playing both sides of the board. Anduin discovered this fact after his physical therapy had progressed enough that he could walk at least downstairs with a cane and his new prosthetic right leg, sitting across from the dragon without a word.

“Do you know how to play jihui?” Wrathion asked, cheek resting upon his hand and not looking up from where he was boredly playing with a game piece.

“I can’t exactly do much right now, so I have all the time in the world to learn,” Anduin stated lightheartedly, setting his cane to the side.

Wrathion glanced up at him, his expression unchanged, before he sat up straight and began to reset the board.

When it came down to it, either Wrathion was terrible at jihui, or Anduin had extreme beginner’s luck.

* * *

On the final night of his time in Pandaria, Anduin stared into the fireplace, gently petting the whelp who lay in his lap. Silence stretched out between them, broken only by the crackling of the flames.

“You should run away with me.”

Anduin blinked. “What?”

“You heard me. Run away with me. I can make it so you can live comfortably, never having to worry about being caught,” he stated matter-of-factly, as though the disappearance of the crown prince of Stormwind was nothing.

“Wrathion, you know we can’t do that…”

“We could find TF,” he murmured, reaching a tiny claw up to trace the letters on Anduin’s wrist. “She must be lonely without us…”

“Wrathion, please… You know I want that more than anything, but—”

“But  _ what,  _ Anduin!” the whelp cried, sitting up. If dragons could cry, Anduin had no doubt he’d be doing so now. “I can’t come with you to Stormwind— Titans know the nobles won’t accept me as your mate; they may even try to have you ousted if I revealed myself! What’s stopping you from just spending a  _ little _ time away from the throne, even, and just seeing the world?! Maybe… maybe if we find TF, we could…”

“Wrathion.” Anduin could barely manage a whisper. When he had started crying, he wasn’t sure. “I can’t do that to my people. To my father. If you want to find TF, I won’t stop you. But I can’t come with you.”

Silence.

“You’re right,” Wrathion finally admitted. He flapped his little wings and hopped to the ground— a sight that usually made Anduin stifle his laughter— and transformed into his humanoid form in a puff of smoke. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have forced this on you when I already knew the answer.”

“ _ Wrath—” _

“Don’t. Just… come to bed and let me hold you, okay? I just want to be with you for one more night.”

Anduin nodded, grabbing Wrathion’s hand to pull himself up. Wrathion gently tugged him into his arms and kissed him gently, hot tears mingling together as they met. Without a word, they tugged off each other’s clothes, and made love as though it might be their last.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the Wranduin discord for pushing me to make this and  
> @massively-multiplayer-cereal on tumblr/Imnotbabey on AO3 who gave me the line about having plenty of time to learn jihui
> 
> [fatjainaproudmoore.tumblr.com](https://fatjainaproudmoore.tumblr.com/)


End file.
